Interac Says Canadians Are Using Its Service At Record Levels

Interac, the digital money company, announced Tuesday that its eTransfer service is being used by Canadian consumers and businesses at record levels.

In a press release, the company said more than 158 million transfers were made over the platform during 2016. What’s more, the volume is nearly 50 percent higher than the year before, when it had 105 million transfers.

The value of Interac eTransfer transactions also reached a new high, with greater than $63 billion transferred last year, representing an average transaction of $408.

Interac eTransfer is a digital money transfer platform for every type of transaction, whether it’s person-to-person (P2P), person-to-business (P2B), business-to-person (B2P) or business-to-business (B2B). Based on a “good funds” model in which a sender’s funds are immediately removed from their account upon making a payment or transfer, the service offers real-time capabilities with 65 percent of transfer notifications received instantly.

“Interac eTransfer is leading secure, real-time money movement innovation in Canada,” said Mark O’Connell, president and CEO, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation, in the press release. “We know Canadian consumers and businesses value the convenience and security of Interac eTransfer today — and will no doubt find value in new enhancements that we’ll bring to market in the coming months.”

Interac said that later in 2017 it will introduce more capabilities, including the ability to request money, schedule recurring payments and auto deposit. Other features coming to the service include open access, which will enable businesses to directly access payment services via APIs that leverage the Interac eTransfer platform’s money movement capabilities.

“Since it was first launched in 2002, Interac eTransfer has grown to become a service that Canadians use daily, with upwards of one million transactions sent on peak days,” said O’Connell. “Throughout its growth and innovation, the fundamentals of the service remain the same — a real-time, good funds solution on the solid foundation of trust and familiarity of the Interac brand.”